1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a system and method for deriving user intent from a query.
2. Description of Related Art
Online search engines are often used to search the internet for specific content that is of interest to the user. This is generally accomplished by entering keywords into a search field that relate to the specific interest of the user. For example, if the user was interested in finding a recipe for apple pie, the user may enter the keywords “recipe”, “apple” and “pie” into the search field. Generally, the search engine would then try to match the entered keywords to web pages that contain the keywords or have been associated with the keywords through some methodology. The user is then provided with a list of search results that are ranked in order with the most relevant search results at the top of the list and the least relevant search results at the bottom of the list. Generally, revenue for the search engines would be generated by advertisements that are placed on the page along with the search results. The user could select the advertisement and be redirected to a web page for the ad sponsor. However, the advertisement may have been randomly selected or may not have been optimally selected based on the user's immediate interest. Therefore, the user may be viewing advertisements for which they have no interest.
In view of the above, it is apparent that there exists a need for an improved system and method for generating advertisements.